Mateo’s Hoops Diary: Kevin Durant Undercut his Bosses

The Brooklyn Nets are more dysfunctional than the Royal Family and are addicted to double-dipping in misery.

Kevin Durant summoned the trump card when he called for his coach and general manager to hit the chopping block.   If owner Joe Tsai turns on his own, KD will have a chance to sit with the other coach killers of the mess hall. Magic Johnson, Dwight Howard, Latrell Sprewell, Stephon Marbury, Carmelo Anthony, etc., please clear out a spot for the new head of the table.  

There’s also the option of keeping him.   I don’t think KD has the nerve to miss camp, yet letting him show up could result in an overwhelmingly uncomfortable situation to deal with.  Leaking this info to Shams Charania has emasculated Durant’s superiors, and his insolence could spread like a virus throughout the locker room.

But the more likely finale to this sad affair is that Tsai taps out of this deal and trades Durant for pennies on the dollar, crippling the team for years to come. Following the report of their meeting over in London, Tsai tweeted the front office and coaching staff have his full support, and they will do what’s in the best interest of the team.

Initially, I wrote the Nets were better off keeping KD.  The news has changed, and so has my opinion.  He is now more trouble than he’s worth.  The bridge wasn’t burned when he asked out, but it is now.  His plan, from an outsider’s perspective, appears to be that he’s going to break balls until he gets his way.   

The Celtics offered Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and a first-round draft pick for Durant’s services but were denied.  I find it unlikely that Boston will be as enthusiastic this time around to offer the same deal knowing how desperate the Nets must be.  Maybe Phoenix, Toronto and Miami are still in the mix too.

Durant should feel frustrated the team was pantsed in round one.  But before he calls out his bosses, it would be wiser to set Kyrie Irving straight for compromising the team’s season for fear of needles or wounding his pride.  It was Irving’s selfishness and pseudo-intellectualism that cost the team an opportunity for more favorable seeding.  It would have likely led to an easier opponent to start the Playoffs.  

KD didn’t even hold James Harden accountable.  Before Harden was shipped out, Durant never told his buddy to slim down.  Perhaps it would have soothed the stress on the Beard’s aching hamstrings.  

This underhanded move #7 pulled reeks of entitlement.  Where does he get the stones to orchestrate such a machiavellian tactic when he hasn’t lived up to his end of the deal?  After all, he did get a fat extension worth $198 million a year ago, and all he has to show for it is a sweep and complaints.  

The Slim Reaper is still a force of nature, but it doesn’t matter who it is. Giving any player in year-16 carte blanche is a dangerous gamble.  If he’s every bit as awful as LeGM over in Lakerland at building a team, the Nets might be forced to pack up their stuff and head back to New Jersey.

If Tsai hands over executive powers to Durant, the appointment of one of his sycophants as coach and general manager is likely his next threat.  Tsai should tell his disgruntled employee, thanks but no thanks, and start packing your bags.  Sean Marks was doing a fine job before Durant and Irving showed up. 

Steve Nash should have submitted his two-week notice the moment Irving said he didn’t need a coach, and Durant called it a “collaborative effort.”  For all of Nash’s faults, he never had the trust of his star players.  Neither did Kenny Atkinson before him, and he too got canned.  

Call it what you want.  Durant wants two human sacrifices to wash over his shortcomings.  The only thing that will absolve him of that is a self-led deep trip in the postseason or if he parachutes into another loaded squad and they save him.

*****

Use the code “five” at PrizePicks.com for a matching signup bonus up to $100